The Cubs announced that shortstop Dansby Swanson underwent surgery in early October to address an injury to his core. While it is a little surprising that this news is only surfacing two months after the fact, the procedure appears to have been relatively minor, and Swanson is expected to be fully ready for the start of Spring Training in mid-February.
Aside from a knee sprain that sidelined Swanson for a minimal stint on the 10-day injured list back in May, he otherwise had a seemingly healthy season, playing in 149 of Chicago’s 162 games. Swanson hit .242/.312/.390 with 16 homers over 593 plate appearances, translating to a 99 wRC+ and a diminished .148 Isolated Power number, a step backward from the .176 ISO he posted over his previous six seasons.
A core injury might have been a cause here, though Swanson didn’t seem any worse for wear, and actually hit better as the 2024 campaign went on — Swanson had a .632 OPS in 337 PA in the first half, but a .795 OPS in 256 PA after the All-Star break. Swanson was one of several Cubs players who had uneven seasons at the plate, and this inconsistency manifested itself in Chicago’s middling 83-79 record.
Since Swanson will be ready to go for all of spring camp, this surgery might just be a footnote in the Cubs’ offseason. Nico Hoerner’s flexor tendon surgery from October certainly seems like the larger concern, as there still hasn’t been any public word on whether or not Hoerner’s recovery timeline might stretch into Spring Training or the regular season. This lack of certainty hasn’t stopped Hoerner from being mentioned in trade rumors, but since Hoerner is still on the Cubs’ roster for now, it isn’t great news for Chicago that both starting middle infielders are recovering from surgeries.
